NBN Co, the company rolling out the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN), has launched the raft of discount business bundles it first flagged last year, along with a new online service to help match businesses with the products most relevant to them.

NBN Co first announced plans to introduce new wholesale business-grade discount bundles over the fixed line network in December 2018, its stated goal to help improve customer experience and better meet the demands of Australian businesses.

At the time, the company said that, for the first time, the new services would combine access to high speeds, committed bandwidth and premium service levels in a discounted charge, largely designed to deliver significant savings for retail service providers (RSPs).

The new fixed line wholesale discount offerings include the business NBN Basic Bundle, which comes with wholesale speeds of 50/20Mbps or 100/40Mbps, optimised for smaller businesses.

For medium-sized businesses, the business NBN Premium Bundle S includes wholesale speeds of 50/20Mbps or 100/40Mbps with symmetrical committed speeds of 1/1Mbps, with the bundle designed for multiple phone lines.

Meanwhile, the business NBN Premium Bundle M comes with wholesale symmetrical committed speeds of 20/20Mbps with a minimum of 100/40Mbps peak information rate. This bundle is designed for medium to large businesses requiring highly reliable networks to carry their business-critical applications.

At the top end of the new offerings, the business NBN Premium Bundle L provides wholesale symmetrical committed speeds of 50/50Mbps and a minimum of 250/100Mbps peak information rate, aimed at meeting the needs of data-intensive and multi-site organisations.

The new bundles also come with a minimum 12-hour enhanced service level agreement with 24/7 support between NBN Co and the service retailer. At the same time, selected wholesale discount bundles also include the option to install a subsequent line to test critical applications before connecting to the network.

Timed to coincide with the launch of the new bundles, NBN Co’s new solution finder is an online tool designed to help businesses understand the most appropriate type of services and products network RSPs may be able to offer them.

“The business [NBN] solution finder is an easy to use online tool that will help businesses order the most suitable business-grade solution available from their internet provider,” said NBN Co chief customer officer Paul Tyler.

According to NBN Co, research shows that many businesses in Australia may not be connected to the best broadband plan to suit their needs, with the majority of home-based businesses using residential broadband plans instead of plans designed for business use.

“For businesses of all sizes, it’s important that they select the appropriate business [NBN] solution to meet their needs, including the right speeds, committed bandwidth and service level assurance,” Tyler said.

The launch of the new services and the online tool come as NBN Co begins work on an industry-wide wholesale pricing review consultation paper to some 50 retail service providers selling NBN plans to residential and business customers, and special interest groups such as ACCAN.

The consultation paper will seek industry feedback on areas such as improving customer experience with the right pricing, promoting the take-up of NBN services by under-serviced segments and developing a sustainable business model that will enable NBN Co to continue to upgrade and maintain its network.